Edouard Philippe and Nicolas Hulot onboard of Energy Observer
On August 25, 2017 the French Prime Minister and Nicolas Hulot, Minister of Ecological and Solidary Transition, were onboard of Energy Observer for its trip from Saint-Malo to Cherbourg, the third stopover of its Tour of France. A visit where the Head of the French Government discovered “an unbelievably innovational vessel, an inspiration” (AFP).
Following a technical stopover in Saint-Malo, Energy Observer set sail from its home port on Friday 25 August, at 12:45 pm precisely, heading off on the third leg of its Tour of France, destination Cherbourg-en-Cotentin. As it passed by Saint-Lunaire, around 2 pm, the crew had the privilege of receiving distinguished guests onboard for part of their journey along the coast of Dinard : Édouard Philippe and Nicolas Hulot, who has been the project ambassador from the get go.
#LiveEO Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and Nicolas Hulot, Minister of Ecological and Solidary Transition are onboard the first hydrogen vessel in the world #futureisclean
Hydrogen roadmap at the agenda
For well over an hour, onboard this floating laboratory, Victorien Erussard, Energy Observer’s Captain and Florence Lambert, Director of the CEA-Liten presented the vessel’s energy chain to Edouard Philippe. A guided tour which focused on demonstrating the opportunity of the hydrogen revolution and on identifying synergies.
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe with Victorien Erussard with all hydrogen actors on board Energy Observer #futureisnow #futureisclean
“Energy Observer is an inspirational model, which shows us that the energy revolution is in motion and that France has a host of assets for capitalizing on these changes. We have all the qualities required for taking on the eco challenge : intelligence, inventiveness and the determination to work together. And, this is illustrated through the Energy Observer project, which is perfectly in line with the desire for change which the French President and Government wish to instil.”
Highly-committed partners
Energy Observer’s three key partners were also onboard : Brigitte Delanchy, Managing Director of Delanchy Transports, Sébastien Bazin, Chairman and CEO of AccorHotels and Daniel Antoni, CEO of Thélem Assurances. They all accepted the invitation to convey a powerful message : the political sphere, businesses and researchers need to work hand-in-hand to produce, together, solutions for a clean future.
“This visit illustrates that, through dialogue and joint effort from all society players, we will find and implement groundbreaking solutions to break the fossil energy deadlock. Hydrogen is one of tomorrow’s energy mix solutions. It is vital to support initiatives which focus on development and which are also in line with Climate Plan issues.”
Energy Observer's ambassadors during a press conference